Carlos Alcaraz: Spaniard wins Japan Open in first final since coming back from injury lay-off for wrist injury

Carlos Alcaraz has won his first final since coming back from a long injury lay-off for a right wrist injury with success at the Japan Open.

Alcaraz, who hadn't played a showpiece since getting beat by Jannik Sinner at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April successfully defended the title he won last year in Tokyo defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

The Spaniard returned from injury in late August and made a run to the US Open quarter-finals, where he lost to Ben Shelton in a match that ended at 3:33am.

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Alcaraz was kept on his toes by Czech star Lehecka, but he did enough to earn his first tour-level trophy since Doha in February.

"It's extra special to win a title again. It's been a while," said the 23-year-old Alcaraz, who is the first man to successfully defend his Japan Open title since Pete Sampras in 1994. "To win a trophy in my second tournament back is amazing. I didn't find my best tennis all week, but I found the right solutions to win. Today I played the best match of the entire tournament. I'm really happy."

Lehecka, ranked 19th, was sharper at the start and led 3-1 but Alcaraz, who has been wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm since his return, hit back to level at 3-3 and showed his full repertoire of crowd-pleasing shots in the tie-break, winning five points in a row from 2-4.

He made his move in the seventh game of the second set with a break to lead 4-3 and looked delighted after clinching victory.

Alcaraz began the season by winning his seventh major title to complete the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open and also lifted the trophy in his next tournament in Doha before his injury lay-off.

"Obviously a lot of negative thoughts come to your mind," Alcaraz said, when asked if he ever feared not tasting trophy success again during his time out injured. "If you are going to come back healthy, if you are going to come back the same as I was before. If I will be able to hit the ball normally without pain at all. A lot of thoughts came to my mind, but I tried to put those thoughts away all the time.

"My team and I knew that if I come back I was going to feel 100 per cent. If I feel something, [the comeback is] not going to be anything, so I just have to go full for every shot, every ball, and I trust [my team], I trust myself, and it worked out."

Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, British tennis star Liam Broady hailed the importance of Alcaraz's victory in Asia, saying: "You can see the gratitude and jubilance in the team and for somebody like Carlos Alcaraz and his team. You might forgive them for not being too bothered about winning an ATP 500 but everything he's been through the last few months, I'm sure this is a very special one for him.

"He was stuttering and struggling to find his game at the start of the week with a few three-set matches which he might normally have won easier.

"This is exactly what the future opponents of Alcaraz do not want to see is him gathering momentum whilst not potentially playing his best tennis."

Alcaraz vs Lehecka: Tale of the Tape

'I was shaking' - Muchova denies Osaka in thriller

Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova came through a thrilling fourth-round encounter at the WTA China Open, denying Naomi Osaka from a break down in both the first and third sets and eventually sealing her ninth match point to advance 7-5 1-6 7-6 (9-7) in a little under three hours.

"I honestly didn't even believe I will finish the match," Muchova said in her on-court interview.

"So many match points, I didn't know how many. After a match point I was like, OK, I'm going for it, but then I think she always played great and steady, and didn't make mistakes - unlike me, unfortunately! I was shaking. I'm happy that I made the last volley and it was really so close. Naomi could be standing here. It's me, and I'm really grateful for it."

Fourth seed Mirra Andreeva reached the quarter-finals of the WTA China Open with a straightforward win.

The 19-year-old Russian defeated Ukraine's Daria Snigur 6-2 6-2 at Beijing's National Tennis Center.

Next up for Andreeva will be compatriot and 19th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova who is 12 years her senior.

Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can watch the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports from Wednesday.